Middle East & North Africa

12 Nov 2022; MEMO: US President, Joe Biden, and Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, his Egyptian counterpart, emphasised on Friday their "mutual commitment multifaceted US-Egypt strategic partnership", Anadolu News Agency reports.

Biden and the Egyptian President met on the sidelines of a key UN climate conference, which is being hosted in Egypt's resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh, during which the leaders "firmed their commitment to accelerating global efforts to tackle the climate crisis," the White House said in a statement.

BAGHDAD, Nov 11 (NNN-NINA) – Iraqi rescue workers, yesterday, recovered three bodies from the rubble of a building, engulfed in a massive fire on Sunday, in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

The Iraqi Civil Defence said in a statement that, rescue workers were still searching for eight other missing people, believed to have been buried under the rubble of a three-story building, that collapsed after a fire, on Sunday, in the al-Waziriyah industrial area.

RIYADH, Nov 11 (NNN-SPA) – Chinese telecommunication company, China Mobile International (CMI), signed yesterday, a memorandum of understanding (MoU), to advance the digital media ecosystem in Saudi Arabia.

The signing ceremony was held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, between the Chinese company and Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA), Saudi Cloud Computing Company (SCCC), and Whale Cloud.

Under the MoU, the parties will collaborate to provide smart digital media solutions, including digital media, data centre and cloud services, said the SBA.

RAMALLAH, Nov 11 (NNN-WAFA) – Palestine welcome UN vote, in favour of a resolution on the sovereignty of the Palestinian people, over their natural resources in the Palestinian territories.

Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riyad Al-Maliki, said that, the Second Committee of the UN General Assembly, voted in favour of the permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people, over the natural resources in the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Qatar may hope soccer fans ignore politics at the first World Cup in the Middle East. But Israel and Iran, foes locked in conflicts across the region, are bringing sensitive flashpoints to the tournament’s doorstep.

Israel is not competing, but it sees the massive spectacle as a way to further integrate into the Middle East after establishing ties with two of Qatar’s Gulf Arab neighbors. Thousands of Israeli tourists, long shunned, are expected to fly to the Qatari capital of Doha on unprecedented direct flights.

BENBAN, Egypt (AP) — From a distance, the endless landscape of solar panels stretching toward the horizon can easily be mistaken for crops nearing harvest. But here in the desert in southern Egypt, workers have been cultivating another precious commodity: electricity.

After the sun strikes the photovoltaic solar panels, a thermal charge generates electricity that runs to four government-owned power stations distributing power across Egypt’s national grid.

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Citing recent events in the Black Sea grain trade, the Head of the International Association of Operative Millers – Eurasia, said there is reason to believe Turkiye can be a safe grain transit hub or even storage point, Anadolu News Agency reports.

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Israeli President Isaac Herzog has been caught on an open microphone saying that "the whole world is worried" about newly-elected lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir's extremism, the Times of Israel has reported. Herzog apparently believed that the mic had been switched off at the end of his meeting about the next government with an ultra-Orthodox party.

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: US Ambassador to Israel, Tom Nides, said Thursday Washington will oppose any Israeli attempt to annex parts of the Occupied West Bank, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"We will push back against any attempt at annexation," Nides told the Israeli public broadcaster, KAN.

"We don't support annexation. It's not just us; it's most countries," he said.

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: A Middle East Airlines (MEA) passenger plane bound from Jordan to Beirut was hit by a stray bullet while landing in Beirut on Thursday, with no injuries reported, MEA Chairman Mohamad El-Hout said, Reuters reports.

Hout told Reuters that seven to eight stationary planes are hit by stray bullets shot from areas neighbouring Beirut Airport each year, but Wednesday's incident was the first time this had occurred while a plane was moving.